Airplanes generally move on an airport apron, from a parking location to a runway or from a runway to a parking location after landing, under their own power, with the engines on. Attempts have been made to develop another system for transporting airplanes on the airport apron from a landing/take-off location to a parking location and vice versa.
An assembly for transporting an airplane on an airport apron from a parking location to a take-off location and from a landing location to a parking location with an airplane's engine off is known from the Polish patent specification No. PL216097B1. The assembly comprises docking stations made in a surface of access ways (taxiways) to a runway of an airport. Docking stations are connected to guiding grooves located along the route of airplane movement to a parking location. In the docking stations there are mounted leading mandrels, which are preferably fastened to the front wheel of the airplane after bringing it to the docking station. From the main transport route the terminal transport routes are branched off. Guiding grooves which constitute such routes are covered from the top with pivotable gratings having a segmented structure. The pivotable gratings automatically open in front of the leading mandrel moving in the guiding groove. After passage of the leading mandrel, the pivotable gratings close. In places where the guiding grooves change their direction, in places where there are abrupt curves and in junctions of the main transport route to the terminal transport route, switching devices are installed.
From the Polish patent specification No. PL216097B1 a carriage assembly is known. The carriage assembly is intended for a system for transporting airplanes on the airport apron, from a parking location to a runway and from a landing location to a parking location. The system for transporting airplanes on the airport apron is formed by guiding channels. In the guiding channels leading mandrels are movable, said mandrels being installed in docking stations and hook-mounted to the airplane. The guiding channels are covered from the top by pivotable plates of a segmented structure. The carriage assembly moves in a guiding channel that has a rectangular cross-section, the bottom of which is provided with lower guiding rails and its sidewalls are provided with side guiding rails and a carriage that constitute spatial constructions. The carriage construction has a bottom part and side parts. The carriage is provided with a set of lower ground wheels seated in the bottom part of the carriage and a set of side ground wheels seated in both side parts of the carriage. The disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 9,248,919 which describes many of such features is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.